This invention relates to turkey hunting using a planar friction type call, commonly referred to as a slate call. Slate call comes from what these calls originally used as the sound producing striking surface, although now this surface can be slate or a number of other materials both natural and synthetic. These calls usually have the shape of a shallow cup 20 three to four inches in diameter that is made of plastic or wood. The cup 20, sometimes referred to as the pan of the call, is covered by the sound producing striking surface 21 with holes 22 in the bottom or sides of the cup that emit the sound. FIG. 3 shows the top and bottom of this type of call in its common form.
In order to imitate the sound of a wild turkey, the striking surface is scratched or rubbed with an object commonly called a striker 23 or peg. Like the striking surface of the call, these strikers can be made from a variety of materials, with various types of wood being the most common. Strikers are usually cylindrical in shape at the striking end, and are usually held by the fingers much like a pencil. FIG. 3 shows a typical striker 23. FIG. 2 shows a typical striker 23 in a calling position against the sound producing surface 21 of the call.
To enhance the frictional characteristics, the sound producing surface of the call is often prepared with abrasive material such as sand paper. This is always done to a traditional slate surface, but also to other common surface materials. Knowledgeable hunters also prepare the sound producing end of the striker by abrasion. Through extensive practice and calling, strikers tend to wear deformities on the normally radiused or partial spherical shaped end of the striker. Although tedious, the spherical shape can be restored by abrasion. This also opens and cleans the grain of wooden strikers, enhancing the frictional characteristics and quality of the sound produced by a striker.
Turkey hunters have found that they sometimes get a better response to their calling if it sounds like there is more than one turkey at the location from which they are calling. This can be accomplished with one planar friction call by carrying a number of strikers made from different materials and of various shapes and sizes. Different strikers sound different against the same striking surface, sounding like a different turkey.
Eliminating unnatural sounds is very important when turkey hunting, since turkey will quickly flee if they hear a sound that is not natural to their environment. Rattling sound made by hunting gear moving around in a hunter's pocket is one of these unnatural sounds that needs to be eliminated to effectively hunt the wild turkey. Ideally a slate call and its striker should be kept together for ready access, but unless some sort of separator for the two is fashioned, or they are kept in separate pockets, unwanted rattling occurs.
A common link between a slate call and a striker up to this point has been a lanyard. It is nothing more than a thin rope that is looped and knotted between holes in the call and striker. The lanyard requires enough length to enable striker use while still tied to the call. Not all call manufacturers supply holes to accommodate a lanyard, and striker rattling against the call is still a problem since they have to be transported together. Sporting goods manufacturers also make pouches to carry a slate call and strikers. These are usually a pocket to place the call in, covered by a flap held down with a snap, button or velcro, and have fabric or elastic loops on the outside to hold strikers. Hunting vests are also available with special pockets designed specifically for slate calls, with fabric or elastic loops for holding strikers.
Resilient clips or clasps are used to hold a wide variety of objects that have a round shape. These utilitarian devices usually have a profile that is mostly C-shaped with deflective legs and an internal partial diameter the size of the retained object. Often called spring clips, variations of these clips have been made of spring steel, rubber, wood, plastic and other materials, with the resilience of plastic making it popular for this application. Combinations of materials have also been used with success, utilizing mechanical properties of more than one material when needed. Uses of these resilient clips are numerous. Some uses in sporting goods are golf ball holders, golf club holders, tennis ball holders, hunting arrow quivers and firearm cartridge carriers. They are widely used in the medical industry, plumbing and in electrical as both a retainer and a conductor of electricity. Anywhere a round profile needs to be securely held, either temporarily or permanently, some variation of a resilient diametral clip might be used.